federalism Putting the federal in federal republic

FEDERALISM: POWERS DIVIDED Section 1

Why federalism?

• Founding fathers saw governmental power as leading to trespasses against individual liberty.

• They believed in limited government.

• Federalism is a way of limiting government’s power by disbursing power amongst more people.

What is federalism?

• Federalism is the division in power between a central government and regional governments (states)

• Each level has its own powers – separation of powers.

• Both National and State governments act on citizens at the same time.

• Local control in matters of local concern

• National control in matters of larger concern

Powers of the National Government

• Delegated powers are those powers that the Constitution grants to the national government.

• Three types of delegated powers: expressed powers, implied powers, and inherent powers.

expressed powers

• Powers specifically written down in the Constitution.

– Found in Article I, Section 8; Article II, Section 2; and Article III.

– Example: power to lay and collect taxes

implied powers

• Not written down in the Constitution, but reasonably suggested by it.

• Article I, Section 8, Clause 18 of the Constitution lists the “Necessary and Proper Clause.”

– Also called the “Elastic Clause”

inherent powers

• Powers that belong to the government because the United States is a sovereign nation. – Examples: immigration, diplomacy

Powers denied to the National Government

• Powers are denied to the National Government in three ways:

– Expressly (ex. Bill of Rights)

– through the silence of the Constitution

– through the federal system

Powers of the States

• The powers of the States are reserved powers. – The 10th Amendment explains that powers not granted to

the National Government are reserved for the States.

– Most laws that effect you are at the State or local level. Example: schools, speed limits, licensing.

– police power – to protect & promote the general welfare.

– Each state has its own constitution.

exclusive powers and concurrent powers

• Exclusive powers are those that can only be exercised by the National Government.

– Examples: coin money, make treaties.

• Concurrent powers are those that both the National Government and the States can possess and exercise at the same time.

– Example: levying and collecting taxes.

Concurrent Powers

Delegated Powers

Reserved Powers

Exclusive Powers

Conflicts between Federal and State laws

• The “Supremacy Clause” (Article VI, Section 2)

– States that the Constitution is the supreme law of the land

– If there is a conflict, National law will prevail

– Is the linchpin of the Constitution because it joins the National Government and States into a single unit – a federal government.

Conflicts between Federal and State laws cont…

• The role of the Supreme Court – It is the umpire of the federal system. It can apply the

“Supremacy Clause” to conflicts between National and State governments.

– The Supreme Court first applied the: Supremacy Clause in the case of McCulloch v. Maryland.

• The case of McCulloch v. Maryland also held up the idea of implied powers for the first time.